Hereís a story illustrating the self-interested, tyrannical leadership at play on the NHLís side:

Winnipeg Jets representation at a recent NHL Board of Governors meeting piped up to say it was opposed to engaging in a long, bloody lockout sure to stymie their franchiseís momentum and hurt the game of hockey.

It wasnít Winnipeg owner Mark Chipman, but rather one of the alternate governors representing the Jets.

Bruins Principal Owner and Chairman of the Board of Governors Jeremy Jacobs answered by reprimanding the Winnipeg representative as one of the “new kids on the block” and informed him that he would know when he was allowed to speak in the NHL board room.

Does Thompson even sit in on the board meetings? To me he seems more like a silent partner.

Don't kid yourself, Jacobs would have definitely said that to Chipman. He doesn't hide his feelings at all when it comes to money. He's a loud mouthed and shrewd businessman.

Thomson is completely hands off and is simply a business partner. Chipman is the chairman of the team. You won't find Thomson's name listed anywhere on the Winnipeg Jets employees list on their website. The only mention of him in the media guide is under Chipmans bio as the buisness partner who bought the Atlanta Thrashers.

That settles it then. More needless hyperbole by a sports writer desparate for hots.

Doesn't directly matter to the sports writer how many hits a story gets, so I don't see why he'd be "desperate."

Besides, of course the league and the Jets will deny it. Their number one PR priority is making it appear as if there are no cracks in their own organization. Why on earth would they do anything except deny it?

The reporter is pretty clear he stands by his reporting. Obviously it may or may not be exact, but I don't doubt that the substance of it is accurate.

That settles it then. More needless hyperbole by a sports writer desparate for hots.

C'mon you guys, let's not jump all over this garbage and hang the 'scapegoat de jour' just because some bozo reporter decides to stir the pot.
First of all, I have no doubt that Chipman can hold his own with Jacobs and the old-fart owners, much more so than the player reps can with Fehr. He (MC) is soft-spoken but very smart and calculating.
Secondly, Jacobs' team isn't that big a contributor to league profits--TO, NYR and MTL do most of the heavy lifting. According to Forbes, the Bruins did not make much more of an operating profit than the Jets last year...so Jacobs does not hold that much financial clout. In any case, the Bruins organization seems to know how to win Stanley Cups, so I'm giving the old man the benefit of the doubt.
Thirdly, the Jets are amongst the least likely teams in the NHL to be adversely affected by this lockout. They have a rabid fan base and guaranteed sellouts for the next 4 years; by then this will all be ancient history. So the quote attribited to our unnamed substitute governor makes no sense.
Finally, IMO we should not lose sight of the main objective here: building a financially stable, winning organization in Wpg. For the league and for the Jets, that may mean standing firm for a while longer.
Don't believe everything you read.

This lockout is 100% about helping the big market teams make more money. The "half the teams are losing money" argument is simply so they can lower player costs for themselves while still bringing in record revenues. The small market teams for the most part won't be any more competitive with a slightly lowered cap - only revenue sharing would fix that and we're not hearing any talk of significantly expanding it.

Whether or not the rumoured event transpired is meaningless. We already know a few owners are running the table.

C'mon you guys, let's not jump all over this garbage and hang the 'scapegoat de jour' just because some bozo reporter decides to stir the pot.
First of all, I have no doubt that Chipman can hold his own with Jacobs and the old-fart owners, much more so than the player reps can with Fehr. He (MC) is soft-spoken but very smart and calculating.
Secondly, Jacobs' team isn't that big a contributor to league profits--TO, NYR and MTL do most of the heavy lifting. According to Forbes, the Bruins did not make much more of an operating profit than the Jets last year...so Jacobs does not hold that much financial clout. In any case, the Bruins organization seems to know how to win Stanley Cups, so I'm giving the old man the benefit of the doubt.
Thirdly, the Jets are amongst the least likely teams in the NHL to be adversely affected by this lockout. They have a rabid fan base and guaranteed sellouts for the next 4 years; by then this will all be ancient history. So the quote attribited to our unnamed substitute governor makes no sense.
Finally, IMO we should not lose sight of the main objective here: building a financially stable, winning organization in Wpg. For the league and for the Jets, that may mean standing firm for a while longer.
Don't believe everything you read.

I can decide for myself who to believe, thanks. In evaluating the credibility of the source and the credibility of the rebuttal, combined with the well-known nature of the character involved, plus a little bit of back story on the culture at the NHL BOG level, I chose to believe the reporter.

And why do you act like Jacobs' behaviour reflects poorly on the Jets? It reflects poorly on himself and the entire NHL BOG. Hence the strong denial by the sock puppet.

C'mon you guys, let's not jump all over this garbage and hang the 'scapegoat de jour' just because some bozo reporter decides to stir the pot.
First of all, I have no doubt that Chipman can hold his own with Jacobs and the old-fart owners, much more so than the player reps can with Fehr. He (MC) is soft-spoken but very smart and calculating.
Secondly, Jacobs' team isn't that big a contributor to league profits--TO, NYR and MTL do most of the heavy lifting. According to Forbes, the Bruins did not make much more of an operating profit than the Jets last year...so Jacobs does not hold that much financial clout. In any case, the Bruins organization seems to know how to win Stanley Cups, so I'm giving the old man the benefit of the doubt.
Thirdly, the Jets are amongst the least likely teams in the NHL to be adversely affected by this lockout. They have a rabid fan base and guaranteed sellouts for the next 4 years; by then this will all be ancient history. So the quote attribited to our unnamed substitute governor makes no sense.
Finally, IMO we should not lose sight of the main objective here: building a financially stable, winning organization in Wpg. For the league and for the Jets, that may mean standing firm for a while longer.
Don't believe everything you read.

Just so you know, Jacobs charges his own team (the Bruins) rent at the TD Gardens. He does it through his parent company Delaware North. He and Snider are the longest tenured owners in the NHL. He was elected to chair the executive committee by the other owners for a reason. That reason is he knows how to expunge and hide money like no other owner. He's pretty much the reason that HRR is so disguised by the owners. To believe he makes barely more than the Jets did last year is fooling yourself. If you get a chance read up on his family history, the shadiness of them is straight out of the Godfather series, lol. BTW I'm not pumping his tires or even like him, but I understand exactly how he's gotten to where he has and it's from being shrewd and malicious. From a business perspective I respect him, on an ethical/moral level not a chance.

This lockout is 100% about helping the big market teams make more money. The "half the teams are losing money" argument is simply so they can lower player costs for themselves while still bringing in record revenues. The small market teams for the most part won't be any more competitive with a slightly lowered cap - only revenue sharing would fix that and we're not hearing any talk of significantly expanding it.

Whether or not the rumoured event transpired is meaningless. We already know a few owners are running the table.

The reason you dont hear anything about it is because that is one of the few issues that both sides agree on. The NHL has agreed to increase revenue sharing from $150 to $220 million per year. They have also redefined the criteria so that more teams are eligable to receive it.

With regards to the comment it may have indeed happened, but its not the be all end all. I have no doubt that hands on owners like Chipman and Geoff Molson etc will work their way up the leadership ranks of the BOG in due time. When that happens we may finally see a league that is willing to work with the players instead of against them and vis versa.

Just so you know, Jacobs charges his own team (the Bruins) rent at the TD Gardens. He does it through his parent company Delaware North. He and Snider are the longest tenured owners in the NHL. He was elected to chair the executive committee by the other owners for a reason. That reason is he knows how to expunge and hide money like no other owner. He's pretty much the reason that HRR is so disguised by the owners. To believe he makes barely more than the Jets did last year is fooling yourself. If you get a chance read up on his family history, the shadiness of them is straight out of the Godfather series, lol. BTW I'm not pumping his tires or even like him, but I understand exactly how he's gotten to where he has and it's from being shrewd and malicious. From a business perspective I respect him, on an ethical/moral level not a chance.

I appreciate the perspective. It does seem unlikely that such a successful big market team would make so little profit and ,no doubt, Jacobs is creative with the books.
On your suggestion, I googled Jeremy Jacobs. I love the Godfather reference, but, I gotta tell you, from what i read, he is one smart, successful, accomplished and philanthropic man. His bio reminds me a bit of Izzy Asper, who was an absolute bear as a businessman, but one of the most creative and philanthropic men in the history of this province. I would encourage people to actually research this and make up their own minds.

I don't mean to come across as an apologist for the owners. I just happen to think it is simplistic and damaging to the players' cause to villiify them.